ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville women’s soccer team played two matches in Winston-Salem on Saturday as part of its spring schedule. The Bulldogs defeated Appalachian State of the Southern Conference, 2-1 and then fell to Big South foe Liberty, 2-0.

Asheville coach Michelle Demko was very pleased with how her team performed on Saturday and how they’re progressing in the spring.

“We are making an unbelievable amount of progress this spring. It excites me for the future of this program. Our game against App State was one of our best from a team shape stand point,” stated Demko. “We worked on some things last week with regard to defending in a slightly different system and the players were able to implement that into the game plan which allowed us to score two great goals.

“After playing App State we had a 10-minute break then played a 70-minute game against Liberty which is incredibly difficult to do,” added Demko. “We have been speaking about our mental toughness all spring season, and this was an opportunity for us to train that aspect of the game.

“I am very pleased with our performance yesterday. We have made more progress this spring than any other season in three years and it's because the players are committed to the program and changing the culture for women's soccer at UNC Asheville,” Demko also said. “They are understanding what it takes to be leaders, to hold each other accountable and to truly be committed to playing Division I athletics. I am very proud of them."